Draft Digest: Vintage Cube Returns!

Vintage Cube is up again on Magic Online, woohoo! One of the things to note about Cube is that it is substantially more subjective to draft than any other set. It's more focused towards fun and preference. Sometimes Cubes do have a best deck (like Mono-White Aggro in the MTGO Legacy Cube two iterations ago), but in general this isn't the case. So most packs will have about five cards you can justify taking, which makes it all the more fun! Let's see what this pack has to offer.

Pack 1, Pick 1

First off, honorable mentions go out to Fastbond and Dark Confidant. While both cards are extremely broken, in Cube they require very specific shells. I am certainly willing to first-pick them, but this pack has too many strong other options. Still, if I were really in the mood for drafting Black Aggro, a deck I like quite a bit, I would snap up Bob and not look back!

In Legacy Cube, I would probably just take Lightning Bolt. The card is extremely efficient, goes in any deck in that Cube, and is just, well, Lightning Bolt. The thing is, with such a large number of decks that don't play creatures in Vintage Cube, the card gets much worse. Don't get me wrong; I usually play it in my red deck. But it's not as important to have such a density of interaction. I wouldn't fault you for taking Bolt, though, especially since Mono-Red is great!

Rakdos Signet is also a great pick! And, honestly, I would probably take Izzet Signet out of this pack if that were an option. As is, I just want to mention that Signets, are extremely good, and you really shouldn't be passing them too often if you're not in a green deck. In the early iterations of Cube, these always go late, so don't be that player.

Now we have the last two options: Dack Fayden or Reanimate. In general, especially early on in Cube Drafts, you want to take cards centered around busted strategies. Reanimate certainly fits the bill, and, while you might not realize it, so does Dack Fayden. Many of the combo decks are based in U/R, and Dack lets you churn through your deck like it's nothing! Dack can even steal Moxen and other important artifacts. It's one of the most powerful planeswalkers in the MTGO Vintage Cube, possibly the most powerful, and it's what I'm going to take here.

Pack 1, Pick 4

The Picks So Far:

Well, this is a wonderful start to a cube draft! I have solidified in blue, hopefully either a U/R control deck or combo deck, although I'm not attached to red. But Dack Fayden is splashable, which is an important note.

I feel like a lot of people would want to take Brainstorm because of how powerful it is in Constructed. Don't. It's fine in Cube, but it's really not great. Remember that your deck really isn't likely to have more than a couple of fetchlands, and hence Brainstorm is fine, but not exciting.

Emrakul, the Promised End is one of my favorite finishers, and it is really hard for me to pass the card in Cube, especially with a card like Dack Fayden to just discard two cards a turn in order to consistently cast Emrakul early. But I think I need to be disciplined with this pick and pass the Emrakul, the Promised End.

Vampiric Tutor is pretty awesome. It is card disadvantage, but who cares if your opponent is dead when you get your combo together? But I also really want this Arid Mesa. Even though it only gets one color we are playing so far, I really prioritize fixing in Cube so I can play all the cards I want to. If I can pick up a Tundra or Hallowed Fountain, it becomes quite good already, not to mention the additional splash capabilities off of something like a Blood Crypt or Badlands.

About Ryan Saxe

Ryan has been playing Magic for over ten years and is an avid limited player in New York City's competitive scene. Known for his analytical approach to the game, Ryan prides himself in his efficacy for problem solving. Every set bears an onslaught of new puzzles, and taking these head on is what he does best.